Sri Lanka are out of the T20 World Cup 2026. New Zealand beat them on Wednesday and ended their campaign in the Super Eights.
Captain Dasun Shanaka said constant criticism hurt his players. He said it affected their mental health and their game.
The co-hosts faced strong backlash before the World Cup. They lost five of six limited overs matches to England in the build up. Many fans and experts questioned the team.
Sri Lanka won the title in 2014. But this time they lost their second straight Super Eights match on Wednesday. New Zealand secured a big win and knocked them out.
Shanaka said sorry to the fans after what he called an embarrassing show. But he also said the negative talk had gone too far.
“No matter how we as cricketers try to stay positive, there is negativity outside,” Shanaka told reporters after their defeat in Colombo.
“We will play and leave, but for the players who will come in the future, if the government can even stop it, that’s better for their mental health.”
Sri Lanka chased 169 to win. They fell to 46 for five in the 11th over. They never recovered from that start.
“Honestly, we are very sorry for what happened. No one goes out there to fail, everyone goes with the intention of playing well and winning for the team,” said Shanaka.
Injuries also hurt the side. They missed Wanindu Hasaranga, Matheesha Pathirana and Ehsan Malinga. All three bowlers were out.
“You’ve also got to make fitness a non negotiable,” he said.
“When you have the number of injuries we’ve had, it’s hard to get a good outcome. Your fitness level influences your injuries. There are some players who can’t even get into the team because of fitness issues. That’s something we’ve talked about a lot over several World Cups now,” he added.
Former captain Kumar Sangakkara also shared his concern. He said Sri Lanka risk falling behind in world cricket.
“There is a lot of work to be done at all levels to course correct,” he wrote on X.
“We can’t do the same things over and over and expect different results when the cricket world around us has evolved so quickly. We haven’t adapted and the danger is irrelevance.”
